


a kind of love

by dollsome



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24360025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollsome/pseuds/dollsome
Summary: Hardy and Miller, working late.
Relationships: Alec Hardy/Ellie Miller
Comments: 19
Kudos: 143





	a kind of love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "hardy and miller + compliment" from actuallylorelaigilmore on Tumblr. :)

_It is a kind of love, is it not?  
How the cup holds the tea ...  
_-from "The Patience of Ordinary Things" by Pat Schneider

_"I quite like the way he makes it, but don't tell him that."_  
-Broadchurch 3.01

They’ve officially entered the wee hours of the morning, or maybe left them in the dust, and there’s only one force in the world that could keep her staring at this bloody computer monitor, parsing through old records, and it’s sheer stubbornness to see this case solved. Her life would probably be more in order if she had a partner who didn’t share this quality, who was all about work-life balance and going home by six every night, but instead she’s got Hardy, who’s every bit as stubborn and sleep-deprived as she is. Right now, he’s on tea duty, since she was the one to go last a few hours ago.

Her eyes keep blurring as she stares at the increasingly meaningless figures on the screen. She’s just about to take a nice keyboard nap when Hardy comes back in, a mug in each hand. He sets one down in front of her.

“Oh God,” she says after taking a scalding but wonderful sip, “you’ve done it properly.”

“Yep.”

“I was going to drink the microwaved dreck you brought back with you, but I wasn’t going to like it.”

“It’s your lucky day. Night?” He checks his watch and flinches. “Morning.”

She lets the mug warm her hands and inhales the steam luxuriously. She knows her brain will be perking up in a minute, but just now, the tea’s turned her sleepiness cozy and pleasant. “Mmm. Heavenly. I love how you do it.”

“Oh? I thought it was -- what was it you said? -- too strong for human taste buds.”

“It is. But once you power through the initial shock, it’s great.”

He raises his eyebrows, the Hardy version of a smile.

“I always try to make it like this at home,” she continues, “but it never turns out quite as nice. Maybe it’s the fact that you’ve made it.”

He stares at her, his expression a little different from his usual reaction to her babbling. He’s got very nice eyes when they soften like that. Why doesn’t she notice more often?

“What did I say?” she asks to snap herself out of it.

“No, nothing,” he says, and takes a gulp of his own tea. “Drink up, Miller. Miles to go, and all that.”

For once, she’s happy to follow his orders.


End file.
